PC Building Guide and Discussion #11 (everything is expensive...)

[Knave]

To put it in perspective, my motherboard was somewhere around $400 and $500 (and was one of the "cheap" ones), and the processor costed me around $1200. I think the cooler was about $100. The power supply I ended up getting was about $200, but you can probably get cheaper - I got a platinum rated power supply, and you don't necessarily need that.

I would suggest that even an 8 core Ryzen 7 would be worth looking at - you still get 16 threads, and you pay a lot less. But, if you think Threadripper might be for you, it takes away the need to wait. Threadripper 2 won't be out until the second half of the year.

Also, Threadripper can mine. That is NOT a reason to buy it - mine is currently mining what would be roughly $1.60 to $1.75 per day - I plan to hang onto what I'm earning though (I'm paid in Bitcoin), as if Bitcoin rebounds, what I'm getting paid could potentially even double in value. If Monero (what it mines) goes up in value, that will help too - at my peak, it was mining about $4 per day. BUT - you can't count on any of that.

Hmm, maybe I'll cheap out and go with a Ryzen 7 now and live with the slower speeds on some tasks or just put them on my current PC/laptop to do them.

And then wait for the next big leap in graphics in particular and match that with a Threadripper or some other absurdly expensive CPU.

And I'll take the money saved and preorder/buy the new Vive.

 

[Kestrel]

Hmm, maybe I'll cheap out and go with a Ryzen 7 now and live with the slower speeds on some tasks or just put them on my current PC/laptop to do them.

And then wait for the next big leap in graphics in particular and match that with a Threadripper or some other absurdly expensive CPU.

And I'll take the money saved and preorder/buy the new Vive.

I think you'll still be satisfied with a Ryzen 7. To be honest, there's very few things I've done that have tapped out my Threadripper. I am in love with my cooler though... the case fans are louder than my CPU cooler, and yet, the highest I've seen temperatures go, with the CPU absolutely pinned at 100% was somewhere around 70 degrees. Normally, it can't be pushed higher than 60 or so degrees.

 

[Knave]

I think you'll still be satisfied with a Ryzen 7. To be honest, there's very few things I've done that have tapped out my Threadripper. I am in love with my cooler though... the case fans are louder than my CPU cooler, and yet, the highest I've seen temperatures go, with the CPU absolutely pinned at 100% was somewhere around 70 degrees. Normally, it can't be pushed higher than 60 or so degrees.

Alright I'll go ahead and order it and the powersupply and maybe at lunch I'll take a look at compatible RAM and try to build this weekend.

 

[Kestrel]

Alright I'll go ahead and order it and the powersupply and maybe at lunch I'll take a look at compatible RAM and try to build this weekend.

Got a motherboard in mind? If you want, I can look at whatever you have in mind - but I slept all of one hour last night, so no guarantees on when I do so

 

[Knave]

Got a motherboard in mind? If you want, I can look at whatever you have in mind - but I slept all of one hour last night, so no guarantees on when I do so

I'm kind of half doing work at the moment so nothing in particular in mind.

I can go ahead with the power supply and CPU though, right? Or are there good deals on CPU+motherboard?

 

[Kestrel]

I'm kind of half doing work at the moment so nothing in particular in mind.

I can go ahead with the power supply and CPU though, right? Or are there good deals on CPU+motherboard?

It doesn't hurt to look for a deal... but yeah, if you're not waiting on the new CPU's, I don't see a problem with grabbing the power supply and CPU.

 

[Knave]

It doesn't hurt to look for a deal... but yeah, if you're not waiting on the new CPU's, I don't see a problem with grabbing the power supply and CPU.

Alright I grabbed this one because it has built in cooler and I grabbed power supply from your build a few pages.ago 650w

AMD RYZEN 7 1700 8-Core 3.0 GHz (3.7 GHz Turbo) Socket AM4 65W YD1700BBAEBOX Desktop Processor - Newegg.ca

 

[Kestrel]

Some fun pics - yes, that IS the recommended way to apply thermal paste to the Threadripper - and yes, it actually comes with a tool to properly torque it into place.

 

[Kestrel]

Alright I grabbed this one because it has built in cooler and I grabbed power supply from your build a few pages.ago 650w

AMD RYZEN 7 1700 8-Core 3.0 GHz (3.7 GHz Turbo) Socket AM4 65W YD1700BBAEBOX Desktop Processor - Newegg.ca

That's a good start. You're well on your way to your VR gaming.

 

[Knave]

That's a good start. You're well on your way to your VR gaming.

Just the motherboard, RAM and OS to go. I chose free delivery where possible so I am hoping things arrive ahead of schedule (usually do). If not I'll probably have to wait until Easter weekend

 

[Kestrel]

Just the motherboard, RAM and OS to go. I chose free delivery where possible so I am hoping things arrive ahead of schedule (usually do). If not I'll probably have to wait until Easter weekend

The listing I gave you for Windows was a pretty instantaneous delivery... I'm assuming if you go the Ebay route, that most of them are. Hopefully stuff arrives ahead of schedule for you!

 

[Knave]

The listing I gave you for Windows was a pretty instantaneous delivery... I'm assuming if you go the Ebay route, that most of them are. Hopefully stuff arrives ahead of schedule for you!

I am home lunch and about to head back out. The Ebay link gives you a link to an ISO + a key but assuming I have a Windows 10 Pro CD, I would only need the key, right?

Also if I get the RAM + Motherboard ordered tonight on Newegg, I think I should have it all arriving by Friday. Last time I ordered something from them it was Monday, it was stocked in New Jersey during that bad winter storm on the East Coast and still made it by Thursday with the cheapest shipping option.

 

[SniperHF]

You can get a Windows 10 image directly from Microsoftand put it on a USB drive regardless of where you got the key.

Download Windows 10

"create windows 10 installation media'

 

[Knave]

You can get a Windows 10 image directly from Microsoftand put it on a USB drive regardless of where you got the key.

Download Windows 10

"create windows 10 installation media'

A CD would work though, right? Or do I need to USB boot and install drivers for the Blu-ray disk drive? I do have a CD for Windows 10 pro.

 

[SniperHF]

A CD would work though, right? Or do I need to USB boot and install drivers for the Blu-ray disk drive? I do have a CD for Windows 10 pro.

It will detect it fine and will work provided the key is also a 10 pro key (though some discs are universal, not sure of yours). But you might want to download a more recent image and save yourself some windows updates.

 

[Kestrel]

Our Threadripper talk seemed to do some good... the CPU is hitting ~$2.00 per day now.

When you get your stuff, and get set up, let us know how it goes!

 

[Knave]

Our Threadripper talk seemed to do some good... the CPU is hitting ~$2.00 per day now.

When you get your stuff, and get set up, let us know how it goes!

Yeah I will, just need to decide on motherboard and ram when I get home.

 

[Knave]

And by decide I mean randomly pick ones that say they're compatible and seem reasonably priced

 

[SniperHF]

And by decide I mean randomly pick ones that say they're compatible and seem reasonably priced

Hard to go wrong with g.skill brand RAM.

If you see a few all around the same price range you can post them in there and I can compare them more closely.

 

[Knave]

Hard to go wrong with g.skill brand RAM.

If you see a few all around the same price range you can post them in there and I can compare them more closely.

There are the pretty colors at different Megahertz(?) and I'm not entirely sure they're compatible:
G.SKILL TridentZ RGB Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) 288-Pin DDR4 SDRAM DDR4 2400 (PC4 19200) Desktop Memory Model F4-2400C15D-16GTZR - Newegg.ca
G.SKILL TridentZ RGB Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) 288-Pin DDR4 SDRAM DDR4 3200 (PC4 25600) Desktop Memory Model F4-3200C16D-16GTZR - Newegg.ca

Then there's this one which I think is compatible with at least one of the motherboards I listed:
G.SKILL Flare X Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) 288-Pin DDR4 SDRAM DDR4 2400 (PC4 19200) AMD X370 / B350 / A320 Memory (Desktop Memory) Model F4-2400C15D-16GFX - Newegg.ca

Here's some others around the same price:
CORSAIR Vengeance LPX 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4 2400 (PC4-19200) C16 1.2V for AMD Ryzen and Intel 200 - Black - Newegg.ca
HyperX Fury 16GB (1 x 16GB) DDR4 2400MHz DRAM (Desktop Memory) CL15 1.2V Black DIMM (288-pin) HX424C15FB/16 (Intel XMP, AMD Ryzen) - Newegg.ca

Joking aside I don't care about flashy lights coming out of the computer. I just want decent RAM at a decent price that will accomplish VR, a lot of chrome tabs, some encoding, etc...

It has the same number as one of the RAMs but significantly more expensive:
ASUS Prime X370-Pro AM4 AMD X370 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.1 USB 3.0 HDMI ATX Motherboards - AMD - Newegg.ca

Kestrel's initial build 'cheap' motherboard ($99 on Amazon):
GIGABYTE GA-AB350-Gaming (rev. 1.0) AM4 AMD B350 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.1 HDMI ATX AMD Motherboard - Newegg.ca

 

[SniperHF]

There are the pretty colors at different Megahertz(?) and I'm not entirely sure they're compatible:
G.SKILL TridentZ RGB Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) 288-Pin DDR4 SDRAM DDR4 2400 (PC4 19200) Desktop Memory Model F4-2400C15D-16GTZR - Newegg.ca
G.SKILL TridentZ RGB Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) 288-Pin DDR4 SDRAM DDR4 3200 (PC4 25600) Desktop Memory Model F4-3200C16D-16GTZR - Newegg.ca

Then there's this one which I think is compatible with at least one of the motherboards I listed:
G.SKILL Flare X Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) 288-Pin DDR4 SDRAM DDR4 2400 (PC4 19200) AMD X370 / B350 / A320 Memory (Desktop Memory) Model F4-2400C15D-16GFX - Newegg.ca

Here's some others around the same price:
CORSAIR Vengeance LPX 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4 2400 (PC4-19200) C16 1.2V for AMD Ryzen and Intel 200 - Black - Newegg.ca
HyperX Fury 16GB (1 x 16GB) DDR4 2400MHz DRAM (Desktop Memory) CL15 1.2V Black DIMM (288-pin) HX424C15FB/16 (Intel XMP, AMD Ryzen) - Newegg.ca

Joking aside I don't care about flashy lights coming out of the computer. I just want decent RAM at a decent price that will accomplish VR, a lot of chrome tabs, some encoding, etc...

It has the same number as one of the RAMs but significantly more expensive:
ASUS Prime X370-Pro AM4 AMD X370 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.1 USB 3.0 HDMI ATX Motherboards - AMD - Newegg.ca

Kestrel's initial build 'cheap' motherboard ($99 on Amazon):
GIGABYTE GA-AB350-Gaming (rev. 1.0) AM4 AMD B350 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.1 HDMI ATX AMD Motherboard - Newegg.ca

I'm not much for the compatibility issue off the top of my head. I usually only investigate that when I'm building a new system and I haven't done that in awhile. Also manufacturers get downright lazy and stop updated all the compatibility lists. In a sense it's hard to blame them because like Kestrel said, they really all *should* work and there are so damn many types of RAM it's impossible to keep up.

The TridentZ stuff is a little higher end, and the lights cost a premium as well. I don't think you'd get any benefit out of it myself.

The G.skill Flare RAM you linked seems like a good compromise for basic RAM but faster than stock 2133.
G.SKILL Flare X Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) 288-Pin DDR4 SDRAM DDR4 2400 (PC4 19200) AMD X370 / B350 / A320 Memory (Desktop Memory) Model F4-2400C15D-16GFX - Newegg.ca


This one is up at DDR3200, Corsair and specifically says it's Ryzen compatible.
CORSAIR Vengeance LPX 16GB (2 x 8GB) 288-Pin DDR4 SDRAM DDR4 3200 (PC4 25600) Desktop Memory for AMD Ryzen Model CMK16GX4M2Z3200C16 - Newegg.ca


Me? I'd just get the 2400 Flare kit.

Reason?
AMD Ryzen Memory Analysis: 20 Apps & 17 Games, up to 4K Review


Flip through the game tests and look at the difference between the speeds. It ain't much.
I believe (though I'm not a VR guy) that most VR platforms are significantly tougher on the video card than normal 1080p gaming. So

Frankly there were a lot of garbage articles out there when Ryzen first came out talking about how big a difference the RAM speed made. But that was because they found like the 3 games it made a huge difference on and ignored or didn't test the dozens where it does jack.

 

[Knave]

Thanks, now it's just down to the motherboard and the wide variation in prices.

 

[Kestrel]

Thanks, now it's just down to the motherboard and the wide variation in prices.

I would probably get a motherboard with at least a B350 chipset, or an X370. An A320 WILL do what you have indicated so far that you want to do, but it is so cheap to get into one of the other chipsets, I don't think it's worth it. Also, B350 and X370 will allow you to overclock, although I wouldn't count on huge overclocks, if you even want to try overclocking.

If you think you may want to run multiple video cards in tandem (Crossfire or SLI, not just running an extra card to have another display), X370 supports both Crossfire and SLI, B350 only supports Crossfire (AMD). I don't think Crossfire or SLI are all they're cracked up to be anyway though.

X370 supports 4 more USB 3.0 ports than B350 does, and also supports 2 more SATA ports than B350. For the quick breakdown - I BELIEVE that X370 gives you up to 2 USB 3.1, 6 USB 3.0, and 8 SATA ports, while B350 gives you up to 2 USB 3.1, 2 USB 3.0, and 6 SATA ports. They both support up to 2 USB 2.0 ports.

A quick explanation of something confusing you might see - a motherboard, instead of telling you that you get 2 USB 3.1 ports and 6 USB 3.0 ports, it may indicate that it has 2 USB 3.1 2nd generation ports, and 6 USB 3.1 1st generation ports. I don't know the true reasoning for it, there may be a good reason - but it appears kind of scummy to me - USB 3.0 is sometimes called USB 3.1 first generation, with USB 3.1 being renamed to USB 3.1 second generation.

In most cases, I expect a B350 chipset will do everything you need - but if you're not entirely sure, it doesn't cost a lot to get into X370.

 

[Kestrel]

Anyone desperate for a video card? NewEgg has a refurbished 2 GB 5870 on SPECIAL for $330

 

[Knave]

I would probably get a motherboard with at least a B350 chipset, or an X370. An A320 WILL do what you have indicated so far that you want to do, but it is so cheap to get into one of the other chipsets, I don't think it's worth it. Also, B350 and X370 will allow you to overclock, although I wouldn't count on huge overclocks, if you even want to try overclocking.

If you think you may want to run multiple video cards in tandem (Crossfire or SLI, not just running an extra card to have another display), X370 supports both Crossfire and SLI, B350 only supports Crossfire (AMD). I don't think Crossfire or SLI are all they're cracked up to be anyway though.

X370 supports 4 more USB 3.0 ports than B350 does, and also supports 2 more SATA ports than B350. For the quick breakdown - I BELIEVE that X370 gives you up to 2 USB 3.1, 6 USB 3.0, and 8 SATA ports, while B350 gives you up to 2 USB 3.1, 2 USB 3.0, and 6 SATA ports. They both support up to 2 USB 2.0 ports.

A quick explanation of something confusing you might see - a motherboard, instead of telling you that you get 2 USB 3.1 ports and 6 USB 3.0 ports, it may indicate that it has 2 USB 3.1 2nd generation ports, and 6 USB 3.1 1st generation ports. I don't know the true reasoning for it, there may be a good reason - but it appears kind of scummy to me - USB 3.0 is sometimes called USB 3.1 first generation, with USB 3.1 being renamed to USB 3.1 second generation.

In most cases, I expect a B350 chipset will do everything you need - but if you're not entirely sure, it doesn't cost a lot to get into X370.

I went with the X370 and now I'm locked in. Now I just need to wait and then find a time to build it with a friend.

I think if I can build it this weekend is going to depend on whether or not they have Motherboard + Memory in stock in Toronto area or not.